diarmaidol Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Just want to get peoples feedback on using the new Vista S1 as a console for running Amateur Musicals with cue stacks. It seems to be a great offering. I wouldn't use more than 5 playbacks in a show. It seems to have as much programming surface as would do for 24-48 dimmers, a few scrollers and couple of Moving Heads 8 max. Nearly would squeeze this into a 128 address dongle. I like the idea of the timeline as this is really how I would think about cues. Are people using this desk for this kind of purpose? As for stability of a XP PC. I don't' see this as an issue it you use PC exclusively for running the app and connecting to the console. XP is stable it what you install on it crashes. I also like the idea of having access to the OS and hardware the software is running. Makes having backups, replacing broken hardware alot easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon T Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Not having personally used the new S1 hardware, but being a vista user and having SEEN the new S1 in a live enviroment I would say it would do for amateur fine! Having seen the s1 with the pc aplication running over 20 heads and a handfull of conventionals it seemed fine, and the LD was quickly able to out decent looks into it in no time . Having only seen the pc aplication crashing Once over the last few years using an S3, I would say its still one of the most reliable pc based consoles around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 The first thing to do is to go to the Jands website and download the free offline version of the Vista console, and the manuals! That should help you decide whether or not this is the right console for you, as it doesn't really matter whether Jill loves it or Jack hates it - do YOU like it? There are several good consoles for a rig of that size (the ETC SmartFade ML would suit, or a Congo Jr or Ion if you are likely to expand significantly) - so you should download the offline versions of several different ones before making the decision to purchase any particular one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diarmaidol Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 There are several good consoles for a rig of that size (the ETC SmartFade ML would suit, or a Congo Jr or Ion if you are likely to expand significantly) - so you should download the offline versions of several different ones before making the decision to purchase any particular one. I've looked at the SmartFade ML , however I think something that offers PC abilities in tandem with a physical control surface is the real leap forward. I don't think the SmartFade or Congo Jr would offer this kind of integration. Working as an It professional I am at my most comfortable with a Keyboard and mouse interface however there are obvious tactile additions required to make programming a cue stack easy and logical from both a concept point of view and a Human interaction point of view. Making that a requirement I'm not sure if there is much else to come up against the vista for that kind of money? Or am I wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvi675 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Making that a requirement I'm not sure if there is much else to come up against the vista for that kind of money? Or am I wrong. Cheaper than an S1 and a 128 channel dongle is the PC Wing to go with our MagicQ software - 18 universes of channels and fully featured software (all for free - download from www.chamsys.co.uk/downloads.asp and see for yourself) and the price tag comes in a lot lower! Any questions feel free to drop me a PM or email. Regards, Matt LemonChamSys Ltd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 For theatre style operating, the Vista is a very nice console. The timeline is beautiful for such structured shows. The S1 looks almost perfect for theatre style shows - five faders - great for the "get out of jail free" and houselight cue lists, a playback section and a small programming section. If your budget can stretch though, I would suggest the S3 over the S1. The extra few physical faders are always handy, as is the ability to have some preset position cues for emergency use on the buttons along the top. The real bonus of using the Vista is it is very easy for anyone who is savvy with the use of timeline based mulitmedia applications to pick up. (This is from someone who had a Vista thrust upon him in an environment it was not suited for, and as such, am not it's biggest fan.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I've looked at the SmartFade ML , however I think something that offers PC abilities in tandem with a physical control surface is the real leap forward.Have you looked at SmartSoft? It's currently in public beta, and allows you to connect a PC to your SmartFade ML, thus giving you the benefits of a screen and PC-based editing in a very stable package - if your PC goes down, the SmartFade ML is still happy to do your show. Try out the various options (Vista, SmartFade ML w/ SmartSoft, MagicQ etc) and see which is best for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Congo Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hi I can recomend using an S1 for theatre stack style shows, for any theatre show, I am sat here with an S1 running on my tablet PC as well as wysiwyg pre programming a show that has 81 movers and 200 dimmers, it has 200 cues in the main list so far, and 10 other chase and effects lists that are triggered from the master stack and the 5 subs, 5 days constant programming no sign of any probs, the adbvantage it has over other platforms is the timeline programming is fantastic for theatre, really fast to programme and set up and can graphically draw the rig, and iff you did need to have more faders well the M1 is a cheap upgrade path, PM if you want to chat further, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diarmaidol Posted February 9, 2008 Author Share Posted February 9, 2008 Having looked at the SmartFate ML , Magic Q and Vista , I think the vista offers a better GUI and architecture design , and when it comes to a PC based system, GUI design is king. It's not trying to emulate a board on a PC. It's software that is designed with the mouse in mind , and then added to. I just think the multi screen aspect of it could be execuited better, however that said considering it's a multiplatform system , a flawless GUI can't be expected... I can run it on windows or a UNIX platform by way of an Apple Mac. Mark I'd be interisted to know if you would run the show you are programming on the S1 ;-) I assume you are going to off load it to T2/4 for final show ? Diarmaid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Congo Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Hi Diarmaid You are correct I will using a T4 for the show as that is what the venue has inhouse, But I will be spending a morning once we are up and running, slaving 2 x S1s together and running the show. Depending on budget you might want to check out the new I3 on Jands web site, and S3 with build in processor. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glyn O'Donoghue Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 As Mark previously mentioned if you buy an S1 you can add M1s to expand the system (up to 3) with more playback. However did you know that Jands also allow you to upgrade the channels at no cost penalty? It really is a flexible system that can grow with your shows. By the way, I work for AC Lighting, a Jands distributor and we would be happy to train you and your colleagues free of charge on any/all of the Vista range. Glyn O'Donoghueglyn.odonoghue@aclighting.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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